Titans (vol.3) #1 (2016)

Titans (vol.3) #1 (September, 2016)

"The Return of Wally West, Part One: Run for Your Life"

Writer - Dan Abnett

Penciller - Brett Booth

Inker - Norm Rapmund

Colorist - Andrew Dalhouse

Letterer - Carlos M. Mangual

Assistant Editor - Brittany Holzherr

Editor - Alex Antone

Cover Price: $2.99

Late last year, I felt as though my hopes had been answered by DC Comics.  Not only were we getting an ongoing title featuring the pre-Flashpoint Superman, we were also getting a "fill-in-the-blanks" 12 8-issue maxi-series featuring the Titans... the real Titans, with Titans Hunt.

I feel that the Titans have had a pretty poor showing since the New-52 hit.  This team... ay yai yai... this team, full of unlikable horrid social media obsessed children... and, by all accounts these were meant to be the only team of Titans to have ever existed in the new landscape.  This title went from nearing the top of my read-list, to my... let's let a dozen issues pile up before I attempt plowing through it.  

Making matters worse... this was Scott Lobdell, one of my all-time favorites.  The fella to thank and/or blame for my getting into superhero comics in the first place!  When I heard he was going to be the writer, I couldn't have been happier.  I thought back to the amazing work he'd done on Generation X, and figured it'd be a no-brainer that he'd knock it out of the park with Teen Titans.  Dunno what happened... but, I really didn't dig it.

Well, onward and upward... the Titans... the real Titans are back... even Wally West... the real Wally West.  Let's dive into it!

Be warned, I do go more in depth here than I usually do with newer issues.  This is a special issue, and I couldn't help myself.  If you haven't read it yet... proceed with caution.

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We open with a Flashback, no pun intended... okay, maybe kind of intended.  Wally West is giving us the quick 'n dirty of his life pre and post-Flashpoint.  We see him as a teen-sidekick, and a Teen Titan... finally a loving husband (and father?).  This was all before time got janky.  From there, we see his reunion with Barry Allen from DC Universe: Rebirth #1... a scene, which I'm not ashamed to say made me mist up just a tad.  

Now, Wally's back with his buddies... the Titans.  Following the events of Titans Hunt, the gang's missing memories have began filing back in.  Fellow Titan, Lilith Clay otherwise known as Omen is trying to read our man via psionic link.  What she comes up with is a name... Linda Park.

Wally gets all "gawrsh", when his pals start kidding him about having a girl on his mind... which, kinda feels like a tame reaction to me.  He comes across looking more embarrassed than upset here.  He claims that Linda was just "the girl I knew back in my time".  That's a far cry from "my wife and the mother of my children."  He shares how during his return she did not recognize him.

We now shift scenes to Ms. Park's apartment.  She's the fastest reporter in town writing for the website Super News.  While reading about the recent electrical storms, her mind wanders back to that strange... Flashy man, who claimed to know her... last night.  Didn't realize this was just the next day.

Back at the Grayson loft/Titans HQ; Roy, Donna, and Garth are putting their heads together to figure out just who or what messed with the time.  Garth posits that the villain they're looking for just might be Mr. Twister.  He suggests they try and hunt down the oafish brute Mammoth to see if he can lead them to their man.

And so, Roy and Donna head to the Bowery section of Gotham to check in on some of Mammoth's drug muscling stomping grounds.  Here, we learn that the Man Mountain is rolling with a fella called Psimon.  This scene also consists of a nice "getting to know you" moment between Roy and Donna.

Back at the loft, Lilith and Wally are still trying to get down to it... without much success.  The returning Speedy and Wonder Girl (man, I love that I can type that... in 2016... and for it to be... mostly true) bring with them piles of pizza for the gang to share.  In between bites, Lilith finds that she may have reached a bit too deep in Wally's subconscious... actually, past Wally's subconscious.  She's woken something... something that will need their immediate attention.

Now for something completely different.  We join a lame-o suburban birthday party, where an old, overweight magician is attempting to entertain a gaggle of tots.  After being deservedly heckled, he stumbles back... and faints.

He awakens as... well, quite a familiar face to Flash fans.  He shows off his magical prowess by teleporting the party to outer space... and returning them home just before their little heads go pop.

In case it's not clear... our mad magician is Abra Kadabra, and he's taking credit for Wally West's recent vanishing act.

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This was a very fun issue.  The team members are still in something of a Honeymoon phase... still getting reacquainted.  I'm very glad this is being done on-panel, rather than as a throwaway line.  Quite a bit remains unknown between the Titans... so, the reader is poised to receive the information just as the disparate team members are.  Really digging this.

One thing that... I dunno, I don't wanna say it bugged me... okay, yeah... it bugged me.  When Wally thought about Linda, it was kinda in the "aw, schucks" kinda way and not the devastating "my wife doesn't know me" kinda way.  I can't speak for anybody else, but I'd be a lunatic in the same situation... perhaps that's why I'm not a superhero.  Also, what of Jai and Iris?  Ya know, Wally and Linda's kids?  They showed up during last year's Convergence: Speed Force mini-series... so they gotta be somewhere, right?

Staying with Wally for just a bit longer... does he have a code-name yet?  Is he just The Flash again?  It looked as though when he "introduced" himself before Lilith read him, that he hesitated.  He did the "I'm Wally West, the (dot dot dot) Fastest Man Alive".  Was he wanting to say "The Flash" there?  I don't think I'd mind if we had two (maybe three when the JSA returns) Flashes... but, hey... that's just me.

It looks like the Fearsome Five are on our horizon... which, I'm cautiously optimistic for.  The Five always seemed a bit dorky to me, however, I'm most definitely willing to give Dan Abnett the benefit of the doubt.  The reveal that... Abra Kadabra made Wally disappear was... something.  Very interesting... I'm very much looking forward to how this plays out.  He makes it so Barry's gotta go on trial for the last few years of his (first) existence, and now we learn he had his one-time sidekick erased from the world's collective memory banks.  What a bastard.

I remember when the New-52 started, and there were certain books that felt like absolutely no thought was put into them.  These were just filler books, destined for the cheap-o bins of the world... poor storytelling... lackluster art... just complete afterthoughts.  Titans #1 is almost the complete opposite of that... from top to bottom, this feels vital.  It feels like it matters... which is something the Titans haven't in a half-decade.  It should come as no surprise that I am VERY pleased with this issue... and this team (creative and in-story).  My only real complaint is that this is not one of the bi-weekly DC ongoings... meaning I/we gotta wait a whole month for my/our next taste.

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Suicide Squad #1 (1987)

Suicide Squad #1 (May, 1987)
"Trial by Blood"
Writer - John Ostrander
Penciller - Luke McDonnell
Inker - Karl Kesel
Letterer - Todd Klein
Colorist - Carl Gafford
Editor - Robert Greenberger
Cover Price: $0.75

Feels like it's been a little while since I've said this but... we've got another comic book movie coming out this weekend that I'm not gonna see!  I've long wanted to discuss this series, however, kinda shied away in light of the property's recent run-in with relevance.  I do so hate being cliche... but, eh, whattayagonnado?

I mostly wanted to discuss this issue (in particular) due to the circumstances surrounding my acquisition of it... and a lesson I learned from it.  I decided several years back that I wanted to own as complete a run of DC Comics from post-Crisis onward... with a special emphasis on the mid-late 1980's.  This feels like something of a golden age for me.  Things are new, different, and exciting... and we hadn't quite run into that speculatory wall.  For the most part, these books are pretty easy to come by... they clog many'a quarter and fifty-cent bin.

One of those books, was Suicide Squad.  These were among the most ubiquitous in the cheap-o bins... cuz, after all, who's ever gonna care about this book, right?  I managed to find just about every issue I needed for under a buck... except the issue we're going to discuss today.  I searched high and low for this bugger... driving for, literally hours, to strange and exotic comic and used book stores... I always came up empty.  This would go on for the better part of a year.  I realize I could've just ordered the damn thing online... but I'm really about "the hunt".  It's so much more satisfying finally tracking a coveted issue down... for me anyway.

I used to work on the road.  I'd put on several hundred miles a day driving throughout the city (and neighboring... and not-so-neighboring towns/cities).  I was particularly far out one day... and during a break, decided to see if there were any comic shops in the area.  As luck would have it... there was one!

Rather than wander my way through this foreign-to-me town, I did perhaps the stupidest thing a person who is looking for a particular comic book can do... I called ahead.  I called them, and asked if they had a copy of Suicide Squad #1... from 1987... because there's been several.

Well, again... as luck would have it... they actually had a copy!  I did the next stupidest thing a person looking for a particular comic book can do... I inquired what they were asking for it.  Stupid!  The question was met with a pregnant pause... followed by a few "uhhh..'s".  I could almost hear the woman's eyes darting about... trying to figure out if she should check eBay or the Overstreet.

She finally manages to stammer out a "F...fo.... five... dollars?".  It was a hair more than I wanted to pay (at the time it was listed at $2.50 in Overstreet), but I agreed.  She then got cocky... she pretended she was looking at the wrong issue... then bumped the price up to $10.  I told her $5 was my limit... over my limit, in fact... and she relented.

Later on that day... I dropped a Lincoln-plus-tax on the counter and snagged my book.  It wasn't until I was halfway home that I noticed the price sticker (which was on the BACK of the bagged and boarded book)... for ONE dollar.  Oh well... ya live, ya learn.  I've never called a shop ahead of time to see if they had what I wanted since.

Now, onto my normal spoilery (and probably underwhelming... I doubt I can do this one justice) synopsis.

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We open at the busy and bustling Hub City Airport where they are both the Mayor and Governor are awaiting the arrival of the President of the United States.  A mustachioed man in a red shirt is our focus character for the time being.  He goes about his business, picking up his bags and people watching.  He gazes out the window as Air Force one touches down... then gives the signal...

A portal opens up in a wall, and a pair of mercenaries burst through it.  The man we've been following hops in the portal after being waved in by a masked woman.  The mercs begin mercilessly slaughtering the civilians.

As the police attempt to intervene, our POV man reenters the scene and drops a strange box that a digital genie appears to emanate from.  The Djinn makes short work of the law-enforcement threat.

The fella in the red shirt starts tailing the Governor and Mayor as they start fretting over the welfare and safety of the POTUS.  He garrotes one, and stabs the other in the chest.  Air Force One has been informed of the terrorist threat, and begins taxiing on the runway.

Unluckily for them, our man is armed with a flaming sword.  He's on the tarmac before they can take off.  He chops off AF1's landing gear and a wing, and it noses down before exploding in a fiery mess.

The group of mercs hop back into the portal... leaving nothing but disaster and death in their wake.

Three semi-well-dressed individuals begin walking through the wreckage.  They're calculating casualties, and time frames.  One is revealed to be Marlo the President of Qurac, who also operates the terrorist group, The Jihad.  We learn that this was all just a demonstration... the President is save... the people present were really killed, however.  These people are described as criminals... and actors thinking they were in a movie.  The next time around... those dead will be American citizens.  The Jihad have passed their test.

We shift scenes to Belle Reve Prison in Louisiana.  Warden John Economos is giving a guided tour to reporter Vicki Vale.  He takes her to the cell of Superman villain, Parasite... who they are keeping just barely alive... but not so alive that he an do any harm.  They feed him by sending one rat in every so often so that he may siphon its life energy.  Vale is visibly disgusted, however concedes that she herself has no better plan.  She eventually leaves, and staff member Flo Crowly gives the "all clear" to Amanda Waller.

Waller is currently chatting up a few of Belle Reve's mental health professionals.  Task Force X is on the other side of what I would assume to be a two-way mirror.  Here the Wall runs down all of the team members' stats.  Our "main" team consists of Rick Flag, Bronze Tiger, Enchantress and Captain Boomerang... they are joined by a pair of "newbies", Mindboggler and Plastique.

I'm glad they put a pair of new kids in the group.  It gives the Squad an opportunity to go over their mission statement without it feeling forced.  If you missed the Squad appearances in Legends or Secret Origins, this is all new information.  We get the skinny just as the new members do.  These folks volunteer for potential suicide missions, in the hopes that their jail sentences will be changed to "time served"... of course, they've gotta survive...

Plastique is a bit perturbed that she has to wear an explody bracelet.  Ya see, until Waller and Company trust you... you gotta wear the hardware.  If you wander a bit too far off the beaten path... you go boom.  Digger can't keep his fool mouth shut, and winds up sportin' jewelry himself for this mission.  Another great way to deliver this information to the reader without it looking forced.

Waller begins her debriefing with the team.  This is an awesome scene... she goes through the members of the Jihad via overhead projector slideshow.  I love that we can see her shadow on the "screen".  This is another awesome way of sharing information with the reader in a natural and organic way.  We learn that the digital genie is called Djinn, the ugly Sabretooth-lookin' merc is called Manticore, the spear-wielding Rambo lookalike is Jaculi, the masked woman is Chimera, and our point of view fella from the opening scene goes by Ravan.

Waller continues, discussing Quraci President Marlo, and international terrorist called Mushtaq, and the Jihad's mountainside headquarters Jotunheim... which is the Squad's target.

Task Force X readies for their trip east.  This is another fun moment... just watching the Squadies killing time until it's time to kill.  Col. Rick Flag, the point man for the Squad is surprised to see that they will be joined by one Karin Grace.  They were apparently lovers at once point, however, I'm not terribly familiar with her.

Captain Boomerang, being his flirtatious and delusional self can't seem to leave poor Plastique alone.  Mindboggler's seen enough, and so she... er, boggles his mind.  Digger don't dig bein' made to look a fool (if only he knew), and so he chucks a 'rang at her... which is caught by Bronze Tiger.  They share a contentious... and almost racist moment.  This promises to be quite the eventful outing...

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This is one of those stories I try and read through every so often... it's an awesome way to start this series.  This current reread was no exception, I really enjoyed my time with it.

The opening pages are designed in a cinematic style.  The credits pop up in consecutive panels, most of which have no dialogue, giving a feeling of progression and almost a "weight" to the seemingly innocuous actions occurring within.

Ostrander offers up introductions on the core Task Squad X as well as the members of the Jihad.  These bits feel organic, as while this is something of an info-dump... it's meant to be "in story" as well.  This all works beautifully, and at least for me, helped with my engagement to the story.

The team members hardly get along, and that also works well.  We've (already) got new members, and they fit in to the dysfunctional dynamic really well.  Captain Boomerang is definitely a fun one to watch.  He's just such a goofball... can't help but like him.  Amanda Waller... I've spoken about her before, but, Waller... this Waller, is such an awesome character.  The Rick Flag and Bronze Tiger as "parents" or, at least babysitters for the crew is fun to see as well.  They both give off that Martian Manhunter in the JLI vibe.  They know how dire and serious the situation is... and they've gotta somehow make that clear to the rest of the team.

Let's talk about the Jihad for a bit.  These guys are frankly, pretty terrifying.  The horrendous lengths they are going to... just for a demonstration (!) really speaks to their depravity... and how unlikely they'd be to listen to reason.  What's scarier than terrorists?  Well, terrorists with super-powers, of course.

Last thing I want to mention, is the amazing Howard Chaykin cover.  This is one of those that I like to call "immediately iconic".  Just beautifully laid out... even the heavy text doesn't take anything away from it... in fact, it fits quite well.

That's really all I've got... overall, great issue... great arc, and more often than not, a great series.  I doubt I did it the justice it deserves... luckily, in light of current events, I'm sure any interested parties can easily and affordably procure it in collected edition.  If you are headed out to see the film, hope you have a great time!

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Adventures of Superman #443 (1988)

Adventures of Superman #443 (August, 1988)

"Prisoner of Conscience"

Writer - Jerry Ordway

Penciller - John Statema

Inker - Doug Hazlewood

Letterer - Albert De Guzman

Colorist - Julianna Ferriter

Assistant Editor - Renee Witterstaetter

Editor - Michael Carlin

Cover Prices: $1.00/$0.75

Catching up on a bit of my comic book "homework"... this week I'm gettin' learnt up on Superman's adventures with... sand.

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Clark and Jimmy are bunking together at a middle-eastern Holloway Inn, having been sent on assignment to trail a missing/captive journalist named Henry Kanfeld.  Jimmy's kinda marking out for the situation, while Clark tries to temper his expectations... after all, this story will very likely have an unhappy ending.

Clark and Jimmy gather their duplicate passports and head down to the lobby to meet with Jawad Al Gurdan.  Jawad is a friend of Clark's who will guide them into the occupied territory across the Jordanian border.  We also meet Jawad's associate and driver, Hassam, who makes no secret his disdain and impatience with Americans.

The foursome crosses the border, and Jimmy questions why they need duplicate passports.  It is explained that they'll need an unstamped one to pass back though from Israel... otherwise it would be invalidated.

Once across the border, they... and this is nuts... walk up and knock on a terrorist group's front door!  This goes about as well as you might expect... they are dragged in at gunpoint, and Hassam is shot in the gut!  Clark tells Jimmy and Jawad to hoof it and allows himself to be taken hostage.

Jim and Jaw run down the street, with Jimmy activating his Superman signal watch.  They don't make it all that far before Jimmy sees something shiny down an alley... a girl, called Tehra.  She seemingly puts a trance on young Olsen, and he follows her out into the desert.

Back at casa terrorist, Clark has made short work of the baddies and ties them up in the front room.  He heads to the back and meets a pair of captives (Bob and Bill) being held, and asks if they know anything about Kanfeld.  They claim to have known him... but he'd left, and their captors took credit for his execution.

By now, Clark hears Jimmy's signal watch.  He tells Bob and Bill to sit tight (yeah, where are they goin'?) and he heads off to check in with his Pal.  He arrives just in time to pull Jim and Jaw out of a vortex that Tehra is whipping up.

She doesn't take this intrusion kindly... and manifests a giant sand monster to fight Superman off.  The creature manages to keep Supes occupied long enough for Tehra to pull Jimmy into the vortex.  Superman is just barely able to follow down the hole before it closes up.  Poor Jawad is left by his lonesome in the middle of the desert... presumably left to die.

R.I.P. in pieces, Jawad...

On the other side of the vortex (and where the story really loses my interest)... Superman emerges in an odd futuristic dimension... which is ruled by a Serpentor knock-off and a pair of Krangs.

We learn that Jimmy was abducted for his... red hair.  These extradimensional exiles "interlace" with humans.  Jim's body is sent away, and the Serpentor-like Emperor orders his charges to fight Superman.  All's going well until Superman is tossed onto a platform that forms an impenetrable dome over him.

We join Jimmy and learn that these exiles use human bodies when they... er, become incorporeal (?) by entering "the void".  Tehra has been petitioning for Jimmy's body to be used as the host for her brother, Husque... however, the Emperor has different plans.  He's going to use the body for his son Ahkry.  The Emperor's host-body is also that of a Westerner, and he'd like for his son to "match".

That's all Tehra needs to hear... she runs straight to Superman and cries "betrayal!".  Odd, she's got no problem body-snatching, so long as the body is of use to her!  We get a lengthy history lesson for the exiles... and Superman is informed of the Emperor's designs for Jimmy.  We also learn that Superman himself is being kept on ice to serve as the Emperor's next host body!

Superman is freed, and again begins fighting off the exiles.  Ultimately using one to fire a blast directly at the Emperor... destroying his Professor X-esque hover chair.

We rejoin Tehra who has run off to tell a man called Zander to stop the "matrixing process" for Ahkry.  Apparently, all past host bodies were already dead... it's against the exile code to kill a living person to use their body.  Ahkry, obviously, ain't too happy to hear he's not getting his freckly new bod... and he begins to protest.  So, Tehra breaks a bottle over his head.  Okay...

Jimmy's body is offloaded, and suddenly the matrix chamber fuses into the form of a giant metal beast... whose cries are identical to the sand monster Superman fought earlier.  This is Tehra's brother, Husque.

Husque takes out the Emperor and returns to the void and Jimmy begins to recover.  Superman walks over to the fallen (and now maskless) Emperor, and yup... it's the journalist he was looking for, Henry Kanfeld.

All appears to be well in the world of the exiles... now free of the tyranny of the Emperor... until, whoops... Tehra's buddy Zander dons the mask.  Aw, c'mon Zee... Meet the new boss... same as the old boss.

We (finally) close out with Superman and Jimmy back in the real world... heading back to the Holloway Inn (where Clark Kent should be waiting).  In our final panels, we see the Exiles are still stomping the desert.

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From much of my research, I found that this issue was originally supposed to be a 1988 Annual for one of the Superman titles... which due to it's increased page count and lack of ads (not counting those on the inside covers) I can certainly see that.  I've seen a few reports as to the "why", and most are in agreement that this story had to be repurposed into a regular monthly issue due to John Byrne getting ready to leave the Superman books around this time.  Can't really speak with any authority to that end... but, figure I'd include it.

Was this originally supposed to be an annual?  Well... it kinda feels like a story that would be in an annual.  Can't say it's a bad issue... but, I was kinda bored by it.  There's a sort of timelessness to this story... like, where it could be dropped in at any point during this era, and not seem out of place.  That's cool, however with that said, there's really nowhere that this story would look like it really "fit" either.  Again... this is not a bad story...

... just a long one.  I honestly struggled to get through this one.  To be fair, it started off really strong.  I enjoyed Clark and Jimmy heading into hostile territory.  I always dig their dynamic, and this was no different.  Once we met our underground (?) dimension... it kinda lost me.  It was confusing and boring.  The ending was fairly strong I guess, leaving things wide open for the exiles to be revisited... but still, ehhhh.

You may have noticed up top I listed two cover prices for this one.  It's strange, apparently this issue had exclusive "Mall" variants.  The cover is exactly the same, however, rather than the UPC code (of the Direct Market Superman shield) in the lower-left corner, there is instead the logo of a Mall.  Those with the mall logos were marked at $0.75, while the others listed at a buck.  My copy bears the logo of the Fiesta Mall, which is located in sorta-kinda nearby Mesa, Arizona.  Might have to keep my eyes peeled for more of these in the cheap-o's.

The non-mall $1.00 version

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